Three years ago at my first monthly District Guider meeting, one of our (amazing!) 50+ year Guiders advised our group that the district had a huge cache of snowshoes at our disposal. It was my first year as a Guider and I was seriously intimidated at the thought of organizing snowshoeing for my Sparks – it was never going to happen.

Fast forward to two weeks ago… Alberta has been hammered with snow this year and out of the clear blue (okay snowy and overcast) sky it hit me – I’M TAKING MY GIRLS SNOWSHOEING! I finally felt confident enough in my Guiding skills to take my 21 girls out for some winter fun. And hot chocolate. Sparks MUST have hot chocolate.

It came together very quickly, we were at the beginning of a huge Chinook and I only had a few days to plan. I live on an acreage near our city so location was a no-brainer: my garage and yard. I advised all my parents via email on the Sunday before our Wednesday meeting with a map and a “what to wear” list attached. I had a huge positive response from my parents and had a full compliment of volunteers to help us that night.

Wednesday afternoon I cleaned out the garage, put together some makeshift benches, picked up some hot chocolate, and gathered the snowshoes from storage. I spent an hour with my own two kids making a track for my Sparks to follow through the yard, weaving through trees and over hedges. The drifts were up to five feet tall!

The girls arrived and after a quick rundown of rules and instruction, we were into our shoes and off! It was a full moon that night, the wind was calm and the temperature was only about 0°C. We had 24 kids (including Girl Assistants) in a train, wearing glow stick rings, snowshoeing through my yard by the light of the moon.

It was by far my best Guiding moment. I’d accomplished something that I had considered out of the question just three years ago, and it’s given me the inspiration to strive for another awesome Guiding experience. I just need to consider what I think is “too hard” right now and plan on doing it in another year or two! (The Brownie Guiders are trying to convince me that a sleepover is a great decision…)

By guest blogger Jodi Paulgaard, a stay-at-home mom and the Guider for the 5th Airdrie Sparks in Airdrie, Alberta. “This is my third year leading Sparks – my daughter went to Brownies this year and wouldn’t take me, so here I am, up to my elbows in white glue and pom poms, having fun with Sparks!”

It is never too early to introduce the girls to the value and beauty of the wilderness and outdoors at its best. This is how we can teach the girls to leave a legacy for others to enjoy. I was able to get my appreciation for the outdoors by attending camps, and other camp and outdoor skills that I have learned through my girl guiding years.